HB2368 expands the Arizona auditor general’s access to records when auditing or investigating state and local government entities. In addition to existing authority to inspect books, accounts, reports, vouchers, correspondence, bank accounts, property, and other records held by state agencies, boards, commissions, departments, institutions, programs, advisory bodies, committees, political subdivisions, and certain contractors, the bill expressly adds access to information held by financial institutions and financial enterprises that relates to those public entities.
Under the bill, banks and other financial enterprises must provide requested information to the auditor general in the form and by the time the auditor general prescribes, and an authorized representative must certify the information provided. The bill also assigns the cost of producing the information to the relevant public agency or political subdivision, and it shields the financial institution or enterprise from liability to that public entity for complying with the request. The bill retains existing provisions allowing the auditor general to attend certain executive sessions, access state tax returns for revenue audits, require reasonable workspace and record access, and treat knowing obstruction of the auditor general as a class 2 misdemeanor prosecuted under attorney general supervision.
The bill amends A.R.S. § 41-1279.04 to broaden the auditor general’s statutory access rights, specifically by adding a new category of records held by financial institutions and financial enterprises when those records relate to state or local government entities. It also clarifies compliance procedures, cost allocation, and immunity from liability for the financial institution or enterprise that produces the records. The measure strengthens audit and oversight authority over public funds and public-entity financial activity without changing the underlying confidentiality rule for state tax returns.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported throughout the legislative process. It advanced with strong committee and floor votes in both chambers, including unanimous or near-unanimous committee actions and unanimous third-reading votes in the House and Senate. The vote pattern suggests general agreement that the auditor general should have stronger tools to conduct audits and follow public money.
There is little evidence of major opposition in the available record, but the main policy issue is the expansion of auditor general access into financial institution records tied to public entities. Potential concerns would center on privacy, administrative burden, and the requirement that public agencies or political subdivisions pay the costs of producing the records. The bill addresses some of those concerns by limiting the access to information relating to public entities, requiring certification, and providing liability protection for the financial institution or enterprise complying with the request.